Bhasu's Story

Contents

Bhasu woke up in Stormwind like many other mornings, wondering why he was still staying here. Not being able to come up with a good reason, he washed his hair and face, and strode out to the mailbox. He only had one letter that morning...so he opened it.

"Bhasu,
Long ago you entrusted us wit watchin your child. She has turned out to be as strong willed as you have, and on dis, her eighteenth summer, she has decided ta wander off. We tried to talk her inta stayin, but she could'n be swayed.
Hopefully your instruction ta her in the shadowy was stuck, since she had'n started her trainin with us as a Madcap yet. I fear she won' find as warm a welcome in Durotar as she hoped, but at least she looks more like her mother than you.
My advice to you, follow her and do what you can for her, but let her walk her own path. The girl loves you, but unless you can lead her in some direction, the girl may grow to hate you. Hopefully you know some people around there who might not want you dead. Maybe they can help you, since she is beyond our grasp now.
Good luck Mon.
-Falthir
p.s. I still don' know how you ended up with a half-troll daughter. Tough to have both halves of your blood hate each other. Well, most of the time apparently.

p.p.s. Seriously mon. Your mojo is all screwed up"

Bhasu stood staring at the note for some time. He knew Maekashti was in better hands with the Zandalar trolls. They were accepting. Fel, they accepted him. He knew the archdruid would not have been nearly so, and as such. Senra and the other Darnassian Rogues had done what they could, but in the end, not being in Darnassus was probably the best bet for all involved.
Now, Maekashti was off finding her fortune. "Gods, why must this war keep going...this would make it so much easier. I am going to get drummed out of the Alliance if this gets out." Bhasu sat and thought about this for awhile, and decided that might not be all bad. He thought to himself that the Alliance at many points was the group still pushing this was IS the Alliance...
Bhasu sighed, folded the letter and tucked it into his belt, and walked towards the park..
"I need to talk to someone about this"

His mind swirling with the news he had just recieved, Bhasu found his way to the Jester, tossed a gold coin on the bar, and asked for a bottle of rum and a glass.

"Isnt it a bit early to be drinking, Bhasu?" A familiar voice asked. Bhasu recognized the voice, and turned to see his friend Kaith peering at him.

"I mean by the gods, you could wait till after mid-day..." Kaith said from underneath a quirked eyebrow.

"You have a minute,Kaith? I need an ear if you have the time."

"I have the time."

Bhasu requested another glass from the bar, and sat down at a table. Filling a glass for himself, and one for Kaith, he recorked the bottle and drained his glass.

"I have never shared this with anyone.." he started, refilled his glass and sipped at his one more slowly.

"You remember that time...years ago, when the Dark Hearts first sailed the seas of Azeroth. We were making ourselves known, and one of the first breaks we took, Phaerok gave us shore leave for the Darkmoon Faire."

"Yeah" Bhasu shrugged. "Anyway, I know you remember this, because everyone was riding me about the way that really pretty troll girl and i were getting on together."

"Yes. I remember telling you to be a bit more selective of your liasons..."

"Thats the time, yeah."

Kaith nodded again, sipping his rum slowly... "Go on."

Realizing that Kaith noticed clearly that he was beating around the bush, Bhasu cleared his throught and whispered. "We had a child."

Kaith sat staring at him, his mind turning with questions of compatable biology, common decency, tusks and whatever else would course through the mind of a surprised 'tailor'. "Well...congratulations."
"Thank you Kaith. I knew I didnt need to hide it from the crew, but I didn't want word getting out. The powers that be in Darnassus and the rest of the Alliance most likely wouldnt be as kind."

"I dont judge much, Bhasu. You know that."

"Thank you for understanding, Kaith. I need to find Tania and tell her. Have you seen her?"

"Last i saw her was in market square." Kaith said sipping his rum.

"Be well my friend, till later." Bhasu waved, put the bottle of rum in his pack, and wandered off toward the trade district.

Kaith only sighed and shook his head. Having children of his own, he knew what Bhasu was in for.

Bhasu wandered over into market square, looking for his dear friend Kyltania. If Kaith was understanding, then Kyltania would be overjoyed and non-judgemental. He found her talking with a younger warlock and a mad mage he had seen places before. She noticed him and waved, and he politely waited for her to finish with her business with them.

"Bhasu, you sent word that you wanted to talk, what is the matter?"

"I dont wish to talk about this in the middle of Stormwind, so lets find a place with a little more cover noise...i have an idea"

Bhasu and Tania began to walk, catching up and making smalltalk. The mage followed along for a little bit, uttering a few nonsensical outbursts, then eventually left. Bhasu took a detour once they reached the stockades, figuring it had enough chaos to cover any conversation.

He relayed his story to Kyltania, and as expected she was very accepting. Bhasu thought to himself how fortunate he was to have friends like these in the midst of everything.

"You know Bhasu," Tania stated, "She would be readily accepted with our representatives in the Horde, i will send word to them."

With that, Bhasu thanked Tania, and let her finish the rest of her mornings business. As he made his way towards the Griffon Stables he thought of the dark tidings on the horizon that the masses were beginning to murmur of. "I wonder what good will come of us continuing this war. The scourge is encroaching, demons are appearing everywhere. We fought side by side in Silithus when the Scarab Gate opened... why can't we do that again?"

And with that, he hopped on a beast and flew to Stranglethorn for a quick visit with the Zandalar Trolls.

It was a nice day for a griffon flight. The day was clear, the breeze was cool. Not a bad day to fly at all. Bhasu watched Elwynn forest disappear under him. Enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his silver hair, he watched people scurry back and forth underneath him.

His first destination was Darkshire, because it saved him overland travel through the jungle. As his griffon cut through the clouds, he marked how aptly named this town was. Perpetually gloomy in the forest, but it was cool. Once he got to Stranglethorn, it would be much warmer. And humid. Bhasu summoned his Frostsaber, Talos, and began the ride.

The gloom of Duskwood whistled past. He caught the view of things creeping in the shadows, and if he hadnt been in such a hurry, he may have stopped to investigate them.

Crossing the threshold to Stranglethorn, He changed out of his 'business clothes' favoring a sleeveless black shirt and a floppy hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. This outfit doubled as his relaxing clothes and his clothes for gathering herbs. Comfort and function. He hopped back on Talos, and turned west, skirting the troll villages so as to avoid as much trouble as he could while making a beeline to the coast.

Within minutes, Talos stepped onto the soft sands of the beach. The tide was just coming in, and, if it werent for the trolls patrolling further down the beach, if would have been quite relaxing. Bhasu let Talos go, since he didnt like the water, and began the short swim to Yojamba Isle.

With waves and smiles, he made his way through the Zandalar Village. 'I love these guys' , Bhasu thought to himself. 'They see past the immediate problems, and are looking at the bigger picture. And they are my friends.'

"You heard me, Falthir? But I guess if anyone would, it would be you."

"You're a sneaky bahstad. But I hear everytin, mon. But we don need ta be discussin dis. We got your dotta to be talkin about."

And with a handshake, Bhasu and Falthir sat down and discussed Maekashti's last few days in the village, and her leaving to see what she could do elsewhere.

"Seems like she be wantin adventure, jus like her papa." Falthir laughed. And It was true. It seems to run in the family. Not that Bhasu knew much about her mother really. But he could guess. She seemed adventurous anyway.

Bhasu and Falthir talked for a few more hours, catching up and talking about the words on the winds. They decided that there were much bigger things afoot than any of the leaders, Horde or Alliance were paying attention to. But, then again, maybe that is what Azeroth needed. As the sun started to set, Bhasu made the swim again, called Talos, and began his trek to the Barrens...

Bhasu rode Talos down a dusty trail he had few times before. Sometimes with the intent to kill, sometimes just passing through. He had managed to trace Maekashti to Durotar. She could walk freely here. Not so much for him. Moving unseen over that much open ground made going very slow, but once he reached the foothills, it became easier.

He meandered his way over the natural wall of mountans to some kind of valley. Seemed to be a proving ground of sorts. He found a spot on the hillside and waited. Watching. It struck him as amusing that he was hunting his own daughter. This is what he trained for though. Hunting people. Finding them. Resolving situations. He never thought it would come to play with his own blood though. In a perfect world they could be a family, but this was not that world. He hadn't seen her mother in years. He would have to ask about her, he thought.

Then he saw her. She seemed so much more grown since he had last seen her. The Zandalar hadn't spoiled her, but now she seemed able to take care of herself. She was running around killing imps, and Bhasu sat and watched, remembering his own youth; seemingly forever ago when he did much the same thing. And he smiled under his hood.
..................................................

Maekashti crept along as silently as she could, watching her quarry closely. She ducked behind trees and rocks, moving quickly from shadow to shadow. She stalked as closely to the small imp as she could risk and waited till it looked away.

Her legs tucked under her. She reversed the grip on her dagger. She thought back quickly to watching her father train with the Madcaps of the Zandalar tribe... but that was a distraction. She pushed the thought from her mind, and refocused herself. Unconsciously, the licked her small tusks in anticipation.

Muscles tensed, she knew this was the moment. She drew in a deep breath, coiled her legs to spring, when something whistled past her head, and she flinched. She opened her eyes again to see the imp pinned to the ground on a finely crafted arrow. It twitched and flailed quietly as its fel blood poured from the hole in its throat. After a few seconds, it stopped. Maeka then noticed a piece of parchment tied to the arrow. She smiled slightly, and retrieved it...after looting the imps pockets.

She sighed slightly when she unrolled the scroll and two rose petals dropped out. One black and one red. They fluttered slowly to the reddish dust and landed slightly apart. She smiled sadly, understanding that this is how her life was to be also. Then she read the letter..
"Maeka,
Until the gods see fit to let this war end, I can't tbe your father as i would wish to be. I am going to watch over you as best I can, and find some way to take care of you. I have been given the name of an associate of mine who can help you. Find Limu. She will bring you aboard as one of us, and at least I will recieve word of how you are from our allies among the Horde. Some day daughter."

"Som'day da." She sighed again. Looking to the mountains, she saw a cloud of dust being dispersed by the wind, and smiled knowing her father had been watching her. "Limu...hmm...I will look for dis one." She smirked, thinking about the life that could be opening up for her. "See you soon da." She whispered onto the wind.

"Good. That was faster than i had expected." Bhasu grins to himself, wondering just how much trouble that his daughter could cause, but wasn't worried, since Dark Hearts were good with trouble.
He sat down, got out a quill and parchment, and wrote a letter in return.

:scribble sounds:

Limu,
Thank you for letting me know this got taken care of. I know that she is in good hands with you all down there. Keep me updated, and I will do what I can to help from here. Thank you again.
-B

He folded it up, sealed it with a little wax from his desk, and pressed a black rose petal onto the wax. He then sent the letter off to the other ship.